Divine in Lingerie (Lingerie 9)

No, I didn’t even get out of my car. “I parked outside her gallery and saw her inside.”

“Oh no…”

“Relax. I saw her inside with some guy she was seeing. They probably had dinner, and then they were looking at her paintings together, holding hands. They clearly have a relationship…not some fling.”

Max’s facial expression fell instantly, the sad horror on his face. “Shit…are you alright?”

“Yeah.” I looked into my glass, remembering the searing pain inside my chest. “I was upset for a bit, but then I realized I had no reason to be. We broke up for a reason. She shouldn’t be alone forever.”

Max looked at me like he wasn’t buying it.

“It gave me closure.”

“Wow…who knew going out there would actually be a good idea.”

“If she’d been alone in that gallery, I’m not sure what would have happened. Maybe I would have gotten out of the car. Maybe I wouldn’t have. I don’t know. Seeing her with someone else was probably the best thing that could have happened. It made me drive away. It made me come out to the bar with you. Something good came out of it.”

He nodded in agreement. “True. I’m happy for you.”

Happy wasn’t the right word. I would never be as happy as I was when I was with her. Even when her family was insulting me every day, calling me trash, going home to her was the greatest part of my day. She was the only woman I would ever love. All the other women in my life would just be entertainment. “Yeah.”

He drank from his glass then returned it to the counter. He looked at the booze, the dark liquid that made rational men turn into assholes. He sucked in his cheeks like he was soaking up every drop of scotch. He turned back to me again then patted his hand on the counter. “I wasn’t going to tell you this because it’s a conflict of interest, but since you’re feeling better, I guess there’s no harm.”

The short spurt of peacefulness I’d felt was ruined by what he said. My eyes darted to his face as my body tensed for whatever news he was about to share. “What?”

“I just got an offer for a hit. But I passed on it because it would be too weird.”

Blood pounded in my temple just the way a migraine did. It thudded hard and deep, cracking my skull. My hand was on the cool glass, but now my fingertips didn’t feel the cold sensation. All the chatter around me died away as my fear suffused the area around us. I was terrified of what he would say even though I had no idea what he would reveal. “Max, spit it out. Who’s the target?”

He rubbed the back of his neck before he answered. “Conway Barsetti.”

My blood turned ice-cold.

Fuck.

Now my heart pounded harder. My fear gripped both of my lungs so I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even think straight. All I thought about was Vanessa’s heartbreak as she attended her brother’s funeral. I thought of the depression that would hit both of her parents, which would then destroy her. Her life would never be the same.

“I passed because I knew you wouldn’t want any one of us to take the job.”

“And you didn’t think you should tell me this information anyway?” I slammed my drink onto the counter, making the glass shatter.

Max didn’t flinch. “She’s not part of your life anymore, Bones. It’s none of your concern what happens to her or her family. She’s got a new man now.”

“None of my concern?” He was right, she wasn’t my responsibility anymore. Her family had treated me like trash and took away the light of my life. They’d never treated me with respect or gave me a real chance. I should want them all to suffer. I should want them to lose someone they cared about, the way I lost someone I cared about. But none of those considerations entered my brain because they seemed irrelevant. All I thought about was Vanessa, the woman I loved. If I let this happen, she would never get over it. “It is my fucking concern. When did this happen? Who made the order?”

“I didn’t get a lot of information. But it seems like the Skull Kings are behind it. Conway crossed them somehow, but they don’t want to get their hands dirty because of his public image—which is why they called us.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. When is this happening?”

“I’m not sure, but they offered a ton of cash, so I know someone will pick it up.”

This was a damn nightmare. “Get that information. Now.”

“What?” he asked incredulously. “What the hell are you going to do?”

“Make sure Conway doesn’t get hit. Obviously.”

“You can’t be serious.” Now he slammed his glass on the table. “After everything those stuck-up assholes did to you?”